9 Chapter Eight

CASPIUS WASN'T SURe how he managed to keep himself together. She was right there. She was within reach. She was his. He could have her if he wanted to. Yet, her sleep was so much more important than his untempered lust.

He sat at the edge of his bed, contemplating every thought that came to his mind. She was all that came to his mind. Every memory was suddenly filled with her, and he couldn't begin to explain it.

Lily hadn't even been around for a full day, yet somehow she was engraved in everything he thought about. Caspius looked down at her.

Her ebony curls laid fray against his pillows, blending with the black gossamer pillow covers. She was truly beautiful. The longer he stared at her, the more about her he noticed.

Her lips were lush and full. However, it appeared she had chewed on them for long periods of time. He could see little bite marks healing on the sensitive flesh and the blood that had dried there what seemed an eternity ago.

Lily was far more fragile than he could ever imagine. If she was capable of harming herself—even as minutely as this was—while under stress or out of fear, he wondered how she would handle the stress of ruling their kingdom.

Caspius traced a finger over the slight fullness of her belly. The heat of her body was enough to penetrate his blankets.

Lily's eyes drifted apart, their hazel depths enough to make a man crazy. "I can sense your stress." Broken as she was, there was room enough in her heart to care for strangers. "Are you okay?" Lily sat up.

"I'm fine," he brushed her off. Caspius pulled his hand back to his side. He pressed his lips together.

"That's the oldest lie in the book," she giggled. "Come on, tell me what's wrong. You claim I'm your mate. Well, tell your mate what's wrong with you." She was a smart little thing, he had to give her that.

Still, Caspius knew how she handled stress. He wasn't going to let her go through that. "It's none of your concern. Sleep." He laid her down and tucked her back in.

Lily shook her head. "No." Her features hardened and the spark in her eyes died. She appeared almost hollow.

Lily started fidgeting with her hands. She chewed on her bottom lip again, cutting open an old wound. She licked at the little beads of blood forming.

"Your lips." He pressed his thumb to her chin, forcing her to look at him. Caspius flattened a palm on the bed. "You're bleeding." Slowly, he dipped in. He licked a new bead of blood. By the gods, her blood was just as sweet and floral as her scent.

He watched her swallow, hard. "You," she softly moaned. Her eyes drifted to half mass.

Caspius lingered. "Forgive me." He licked at her lips again. She was addictive. "I couldn't help myself."

Lily traced a fingertip down his chest. "I.." She seemed to dip a little closer. Lily was trembling. "You're so close."

"I can be closer, if you'd like." Caspius waited for a response from her. He would respect her needs. He would let her have complete control. She needed it.

Caspius could feel his length hardening. Growing. It yearned to be between her legs. It wanted to be home—inside of her. But he couldn't let it happen.

Lily closed the distance between them. Their lips collided, a white hot intensity consuming them. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him hostage.

She pressed into him, consuming more of him. This woman, she was full of passion. Full of heat—heat that pulsed off of her in waves. She pushed her tongue past his lips.

Caspius met him halfway. Their tongues tangled with one another, demanding dominance over the other. 'Fuck.' He felt her nails sink into his back. It stung wonderfully.

Lily briefly pulled away, locking eyes with him. "Fuck." She dived back into him. She wrapped her legs around him, and her hot core met his growing steel.

Caspius couldn't let her know the ache. He nudged her back onto the bed, pulling away from her altogether. "Stop."

He looked down at her. She was panting, her chest inflating and deflating in rapid rhythm. Her lips were plump and swollen from his kiss. Her pupils were dilated with lust. 'Fuck.' She was a sight to behold.

'Claim her.' His beast demanded. 'Mark her pretty flesh.' It was growling with untethered anger.

Her eyes went wide, and she scooted away from him as quickly as she could. "Your face." Lily's hand covered her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes. She swallowed.

It didn't occur to him that his beast was making itself known to her. It scared her, and he hated that she was afraid of him.

She reached out to touch him. "What is—." Lily's eyes studied him. Her fingertips ran over his skin. "It's beautiful." Lily crawled towards him. "Does it hurt?"

Caspius looked at her in amazement. "It did at first. Now, I'm unbothered." He shrugged his shoulders.

'So soft.' His beast purred, burying itself back into its cave. It stayed there.

"It's gone." Lily rubbed her thumb over his cheek, nibbling on her lip.

"If you keep biting your lip like that, I won't be able to control myself," Caspius warned. She stopped, and he was able to settle a little bit more.

"I'm sorry. I don't normally do things like that." Her cheeks were flushed red. "I'm not like this."

"I rather enjoyed it." Caspius pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Next time will be much slower." He gave her a chaste kiss on her lips, doing his best not to linger.

"Next time?" Her brows furrowed together. She looked down, as if thinking about something. "The voices tell me to stay away from you and your friends. That you're bad people." Lily swallowed.

"The voices?" If she weren't a seer, Caspius would have thought she was a little crazy. "Shouldn't you form your own opinions about your mates?"

"Mates? As in more than one?" She went pale.

Caspius didn't realize he'd dropped that ball on her. If she wasn't comfortable with the idea of one mate, she definitely wouldn't be okay with having three of them. "You met the other two. We are a packaged deal, destined to share one mate."

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "N-no. No!" She was shaking. "No!" Suddenly, she seemed to gasp for air. Lily rolled into a ball on the other side of the bed.

The distance between them felt like miles. Caspius didn't realize that a bond with his mate would be so powerful. He didn't expect for it to have this type of effect, yet it did. "Are you okay?"

She started shaking even harder, whispering under her breath. Her head shook.

'Hold her, tight.' His beast whispered. 'Don't let her be alone.'

Caspius walked to the other side of the bed and crouched beside her. "Lily, come." He pulled her into his arms. "It's okay," he cooed to her. He held her close and tight. "Breathe."